Arutha Sly
Arutha Sly is a third-generation member and the second-born Gilnean of the Sly lineage; grandson to the first man to adopt the surname, Sir Jake Sly I. He was born to Jake I's first-born and Gilnean bastard, Jake Sly II, and his noble wife, Elizabeth Sly. He had a noble upbringing from his uncle and joined the Alliance after his home of Gilneas City fell to both Worgen and Forsaken attacks. After he joined the Grand Alliance, the Worgen curse continued to haunt him and his unwillingness to seek help led to emotional and dangerous outbursts. He is known to be seclusive and at times mysterious and adept with close combat and stealth. While in Stormwind City, he was known as a writer, a private detective and a social regular of the city's taverns. He moved north to Hillsbrad Foothills before the Iron Horde's invasion. He is in a relationship with Isabella Heart. History Early Life Arutha was born in Gilneas to both a bastard farmer and then on the other side of the coin, a former noblewoman. In his younger years he lived on a farm in the Northern Headlands just outside the main city with his parents yet still attended schooling within Gilneas City itself like many other Gilnean farmboys. He was often excluded or looked down upon by fellow students, teachers and city residents alike because of his upbringing. At some point during his teen years he could no longer handle the stereotyping and moved in with his mother's brother within the city. His uncle helped him learn to look and talk like a noble yet wished for him to earn his own riches. The young boy took this as selfishness and often rebelled, becoming a known thief within the city. The Fall of Gilneas Arutha was a Gilnean afflicted with the Worgen Curse during the Worgen attack on Gilneas City but refused to leave with the Kaldorei when the Forsaken plagued the city, instead continuing to fight what he could of the undead attackers until he and the others who stayed behind were forced to retreat. He found his home burnt and abandoned upon looking for his uncle and the same of his parent's farm in the Northern Headlands just outside the city. Angry, confused and unstable; Arutha and other unmediated Worgen moved to the Emberstone Mines to the city's north-east. Those who remained fought among another faction of non-afflicted survivors as well as the undead and called themselves the Neverfall Rebellion. Their numbers were quick to fall and for some time Arutha was the leader of this group until he left with a visiting dwarven ship to join the Grand Alliance. The Sly Squadron After joining the Alliance, Arutha Sly had no family nor friends left alive and quickly became known as a drunk that frequented the Pig n Whistle Inn in Stormwind City. He eventually met the eccentric gnome Zubber Knaz who convinced him to mope around less and 'live a little' and found himself adventuring often with the white-hared wizard and his other companions frequently. Arutha and Zubber were soon tracked down by a priest within the city, Aaron Sly, who claimed to be the man's half-uncle, half-brother of his bastard father Jake Sly II. Aaron told the man more of his father as well as the quite short family-line before them and that their knight grandfather had not returned from his service in Northrend with the Stormwind Army. Aaron entrusted young Arutha to run the family affairs in a small owned villa in Elwynn Forest outside the city along with Zubber and rally old friends and soliders of Jake Sly I's squad while he served at the Cathedral. Arutha done this successfully until Jake Sly's return, making friends with the nearby stationed Maxen Montclair and the Westridge Brigade who served alongside Sir Jake in the past. Struggle with the Curse Arutha went through a rough couple of years through the already unsettling events of the Cataclysm. He re-met his father Jake Sly II who had become a respected druid of the Cenarion Circle. Unlike his son, Jake 'Shadow' Sly happily embraced the Worgen Curse as a gift and he and his Kaldorei ally Valenus Nightwing urged young Arutha to accept this change and not bottle up this primal power as he had being doing so far. Arutha, still stubborn and afraid of his curse, lost control and lashed out at his father which resulted in killing him. When Valenus found out, he shared his disgust and shame in the man but would keep his secret from both the Circle and from Stormwind in respect for his father before returning to Moonglade. After this, Arutha went into a dark depression, hating what he had become and the bad luck that had taunted him all his life. Deathblade Sometime after Pandaria was discovered by the Alliance, Arutha returned to Stormwind City but remained in his dark pit of rage and alcohol yet managed to refrain from using his still untreated Worgen form, more ashamed of it than before after what happened to his father. He soon got into a bar fight with a criminal who which quickly turned into a not so subtle attempt to kill him. The armored brute would had succeeded too if not the intervention of Qimeng who gave Arutha enough time to flee. More ashamed and angered than ever before, Arutha donned the identity of 'Deathblade' and spied on this criminal and realized that he had stumbled upon a huge secretive crime organization. Intrigued, Arutha found himself following and inevitably fighting more of the order and developed his combat and stealth skills more so in this time. It was a nice distraction and once discovering that they planned an illegal underground tournament he teamed up with the original officer who attempted to kill him so long ago and dismantled the group and their plans however while doing so he engaged and was defeated by a Death Knight in battle who was believed to kill him while the others involved escaped. Return to Stormwind After a few months, Arutha returned to the city and was found by the same criminal who betrayed his order to help Arutha destroy it. He invited the masked Gilnean into his new order as his Second-In-Command and put a lot of trust and respect towards him. However, 'Deathblade' killed the man for both leaving him for dead so he could escape and the original unprovoked attempt on his life. This left the order without a leader as the assassin then removed his mask and left that life behind. It continued to haunt him however, as a member from his previous affiliation posed as Arutha and attacked the Outrunner Sylvael Shadowheart which led to her and Samson Ordz attacking him. Once the matter was sorted with the help of Arutha's old friend Duke Maxen however, the three became close friends and allies. He for a short-time also became the chief editor of a news publication once his grandfather became the Baron of a city in Westfall and then later became a private investigator under his good friend Isabella Heart's husband Christoph LaFrey before his unexpected death. It seemed that life was actually going good for Arutha for some time until another tragic death occurred for him some time after the Siege of Orgrimmar, which resulted him to disappear from the radar again. Animal Companions Whisper Arutha's Gilnean Raven Whisper was a companion from his life in Gilneas. He spent what little money he had on him at the time on the pet from a market salesman, hearing much of their intelligence. Arutha trained Whisper to follow simple voice commands and to deliver messages for him, as well as to pickpocket. Whisper became one of Arutha's only allies and friends during his later years in Gilneas City. During the Worgen and Forsaken attack, Whisper remained by Arutha's side and managed to survive the trip and make it with his owner to Stormwind City where he still resides with him today. Whisper has now picked up on more voice commands and now mimics some of Arutha's habits and pickpockets on its own without command, proving an invaluable asset.Category:CharactersCategory:WorgenCategory:GilneanCategory:House of SlyCategory:Rogues